*I don’t review favorite authors*

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Grisham novel, and I forgot how much I enjoyed his storytelling. This was a fun sporty and quick read about greatness, regret, forgiveness, and life.

I doubt if American football is a sport I'd like to watch live.To me,it is a bunch of guys falling in a heap and breaking each other's bones.

I was,therefore,surprised how much I enjoyed this book.This is good storytelling by Grisham.A high school football coach is about to die,and the players he trained,reminisce about him,and the old days.The coach hadn't made it easy for them.

For a Grisham book,this is pretty short.
It was almost as if I was sitting in the bleachers,cheering for that high school football team,which had such a tough taskmaster as a coach.

This was a football book about the death of a coach and an alumni honoring him. At least that's what I got out of it. I was honestly kinda confused about what was going on.

AudioBook: Before I listened to this book, I checked out the rating at Goodreads. It was below my benchmark of 3.50 but since I was on a mission to read/listen to all Grisham's books I gave it a try. It was well worth it.
Being 65 I grew up in a time that no longer exists. Life was pretty good for me and all the adults in my life grew with less. My community, Santa Clara County, Ca., had many choices for life's attention, yet sports was still revered. I played sports from 10 to 16; not the star but just making the teams. I observed some pretty good athletes and good coaches. After high school I entered the army and the team mentality that I had learned gave me a leg-up during that experience.
In this novella, Grisham takes on sports thru it's participants and observers.
One might call this an allegory. Why sports? My thoughts are that the emotional and physical training is important to the survival of our community. Think back 1000 years in Britain. The "best" of the community had to prepare for an inevitable place in a shield wall, where they fought for survival. This is still in our cultural makeup and exhibited by participants and supporters. This is now being challenged by "everyone gets a trophy" sports. Think about this when you see people out of shape and still wanting to be associated with the competition so they buy team stuff and hire mercenaries to fight their wars. No skin in the game.

This is a novella or a short story, not a novel.

When you're a best selling novelist you can get anything published.

This is a homage to those American high school coaches who inspired their teams. Nothing new or interesting here.

Listen to "Glory Days" by Springsteen and he says more on this subject in three minutes than Grisham does in 180 pages.

Neely Crenshaw comes back to his hometown to say goodbye to a beloved coach. The story unfolds to reveal his greatest victories and biggest regrets. An enjoyable read for those who love football.

I do own Grisham books, but only because family members keep buying them for me on birthday's and xmas's. I smile politely and thank them, wishing they would include the receipt. I have read this, and i don't recommend it unless you are 10 years old and want to start reading adult fiction. Dull, dull, dull. How this man is a best-selling writer is reflection of today's society's IQ.

Holy majoly! I was so glad this book was short! It was lame-o.

Imagine the movie Varsity Blues, then add about 15 years with the full cast of characters coming back to town because the death of the former coach is imminent. That is the plot summary in a nutshell.

Cheeeesy.

Bleachers is good (and quick read) about coming back to your small hometown where football is life- coming back for a coach who’s very ill and making peace with the past.

This is perfect if you’re needing a pallet cleanser but wanting a quick read

'Bleachers' may not be the all-star starting Quarterback of John Grisham's career, but it is a very talented back-up performer. Like many second-string players in any sport, 'Bleachers' will not have the opportunity to grasp glory, but it is consistent and solid and there when you need it.

This short novel serves as a time-capsule for American sports, bringing readers and sports fans back to a time when football was celebrated for its brutality. Overall, this is a tale about closure and burying grudges along with the past. A metaphorical burial to compare with a literal one. The characters are introduced, not given enough time to develop fully but they are solid with enough backstory to satisfy the reader. What Grisham sacrifices with character, he flourishes with emotion as nostalgia, acceptance, resentment, and redemption help drive this story to its conclusion.

"When you’re famous at eighteen, you spend the rest of your life fading away. You dream of the glory days, but you know they’re gone forever. I wish I’d never seen a football."

Beautiful, beautiful.
Human hearts are so beautiful—do you often think of that? It is reading books like this that remind me of my humanity; that remind me of how powerful the heart is and how easy it is to create unbreakable bonds. I loved this book.

A book about loss, about the fragility of youth, about the complex nature of hate and love, about regrets, about people with strings tying them and bonding them beyond blood or family or race. Bleachers completely transported me to the small, passionate town of Messina. I was right there on those bleachers, heart cracked and open, breathing in the cold air and bitter memories with Neely, Paul, Mal—all of Rake’s Spartans. I could almost feel myself collapse under the rigorous training Coach Rake put his boys through, I could feel myself sink under the weight of time and forgotten glory days with Neely. I could see the field lights, I could feel the brotherhood that connected these players, the drive to never quit, to push yourself past your boundaries, to win, win, win.

The nostalgia was palpable—I found myself longing for a town and a place that didn’t exist. I am trapped by this atmospheric read. I have never read such a heartfelt, gripping book. I highly, highly recommend this to anyone who wants to be completely encompassed by a small town with deep love and a bigger-than-life coach, by the anomaly that is life and how it takes these Spartan football players on a journey they will never forget.

5 stars. Perfection.

A little short novel centering on small town hs football. Grisham nails it again. You’re there. You feel the mental and physical pains. If you grew up in a small town you’ll get it.